Paul said it was a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Some translations use a different word than fearful, such as: dreadful; terrifying; terrible; awful. We know Paul is speaking from experience. I wonder how many have experienced this? There is no doubt in my mind that this is how those who have denied and defied God all their lives will feel when they stand before God at the end of this age to meet their fate. I wonder, though, if we can truly imagine the depths of horror these who denied God all their lives are going to experience when facing Him, knowing how wrong they were, and knowing their fate as a result of their unrelenting hard heartedness towards Him. Some say, well, it is only death; death is not punishment; death is nothing to fear; and/or they are getting what they want. I say such an attitude is untenable, since fear of death is given as the reason for man's bondage to sin, and nobody in their right mind wants to die. The other side of the coin of saying, "It is only death," has to be, "It is only life." Only life! It is only life they are giving up after all, and what a careless, cursory thing to say about the great gift God has granted us in giving us life in the first place. God sees life as so precious He gave His only begotten Son to suffer and die in our stead, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Yes, well said. Death is not the end, but a release from the bondage of sin in this mortal body. You know, I’ve learn led more about theology regarding life and death from Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood than any other sources. This sinful, fallen world is but a temporary home, into which we were banished for the rebellion of Adam and Eve. When our times are done, we go back to our Father. Many people including myself hold this view and they can make peace with death, what they really fear is not death, but DYING, the suffering, the aging, the degenerating, the death of mind before the death of body.
