We lived in the country and went to town maybe once every two weeks or so. The trip to town was usually my grandmother, mother, little brother and me.
We were told on the way to town if we behaved or acted nice, we would get a reward when we got home. If we did not behave or act nice, we got it when we got home and that was a painful experience. Those switches do hurt!
If we behaved my grandmother would give us a nice big bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top. My little brother got to eat a lot of vanilla ice cream with chocolate topping, but I had a lot of encounters with the switches.
Those events remind me of something in the Bible. It talks or mentions a lot about rewards and punishments. It has a lot to do with future events. There are five Judgements mentioned in the Bible.
1.) Believers or those who have repented of their sins, called upon Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. They are judged on what they have done or obedience after they accepted Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 2 Corinthians 5:10).
2.) Gentile Nations will be judged, (Matthew 25:31-46, Joel 3:2).
3.) Nation of Israel, (Ezekiel 20:37-38).
4.) Fallen Angels, (Jude 6, 1 Corinthians 6:3).
5.) Unsaved dead or all who have refused to accept Christ, the great white throne judgement.
Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
See you in Church next Sunday.
To Be Continued...